Keara Piña

Keara Piña is a native San Diegan committed to creating positive change locally through equitable policy. Keara earned her Master of Public Policy from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs and holds a B.A in Public Health from UC Berkeley. 

Before joining CPI, she worked with the Hope Street Margolis Family Center in Downtown LA, where she conducted a community needs assessment and program evaluation to provide recommendations on how to best meet the needs of low-income families in the community. Keara was also involved with the UCLA Graduate Student Association as the Legislative Affairs Director during her time in graduate school, advocating for housing and other basic needs on behalf of all UCLA graduate students in Sacramento and Washington, D.C. At CPI, she supports campaign and research work on local budgeting, land use, transportation, environmental justice, worker rights, and housing policy issues.

Keara Piña, Researcher and Policy Advocate, and jean-huy tran, Organizer, from the Center on Policy Initiatives (CPI) in San Diego, CA. CPI anchors the Community Budget Alliance, which is a coalition of local organizations and community members who believe the city budget should be a people’s budget. The CBA builds local power to put forward intersectional demands for equitable public investments that foster community wealth, health, and justice for all, especially communities of color. This year, the coalition won funding for a new Office of Labor Standards Enforcement, Office of Child and Youth Success, four parks in under-resourced communities, a Youth Environmental Recreation Corps Program, and a new Independent Commission on Police Practices.